App Developing from Established IP

[Sleepy Bear]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kentucky

So, I have an IP, a role-playing game and comics, website, etc. I was recently contacted by someone interested in making an game app using my IP. Neither of us have any legal experience or knowledge and we want to keep things on the up and up from the start. Here is what we want...

I want to to keep all of my IP for me - so the setting, characters, weapons, everything specific to the IP I want to remain under my sole ownership and control.
The developer wants to keep all of the code.

We want to split the profits of the game.

My question is, can anyone point me to the type of contract we need in order to do this. We aren't interested (or financially capable) of hiring a lawyer for something like this at this time. Are there any premade contracts from any sites that we could use/modify to fit our needs?

Thanks!

 

[tranquility]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kentucky

So, I have an IP, a role-playing game and comics, website, etc. I was recently contacted by someone interested in making an game app using my IP. Neither of us have any legal experience or knowledge and we want to keep things on the up and up from the start. Here is what we want...

I want to to keep all of my IP for me - so the setting, characters, weapons, everything specific to the IP I want to remain under my sole ownership and control.
The developer wants to keep all of the code.

We want to split the profits of the game.

My question is, can anyone point me to the type of contract we need in order to do this. We aren't interested (or financially capable) of hiring a lawyer for something like this at this time. Are there any premade contracts from any sites that we could use/modify to fit our needs?

Thanks!

You seek a licensing contract for intellectual property. While I'm sure there are many examples out there, you really should go to an attorney if you think your IP is worth any real money.

 

[quincy]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Kentucky

So, I have an IP, a role-playing game and comics, website, etc. I was recently contacted by someone interested in making an game app using my IP. Neither of us have any legal experience or knowledge and we want to keep things on the up and up from the start. Here is what we want...

I want to to keep all of my IP for me - so the setting, characters, weapons, everything specific to the IP I want to remain under my sole ownership and control.
The developer wants to keep all of the code.

We want to split the profits of the game.

My question is, can anyone point me to the type of contract we need in order to do this. We aren't interested (or financially capable) of hiring a lawyer for something like this at this time. Are there any premade contracts from any sites that we could use/modify to fit our needs?

Thanks!

First, here is a link to your recent thread that adds some additional information for reference purposes: https://forum.freeadvice.com/copyrights-trademarks-39/someone-wants-use-my-ip-make-app-622433.html

A lot of what you ask here I covered briefly in the other thread. Your latest question is difficult to answer because I tend to think any contracts you might find online will be difficult to modify correctly to make sure both your rights and the rights of app developer are properly protected. I think it can be a mistake for someone who is not comfortable with IP law to not have personal professional help.

For that reason, and although I know that attorneys are expensive, I really recommend once again that you get some professional help in your area before drafting and signing any contract that you might piece together from what you locate online.

That said, you should have all of your copyrighted material registered with the US Copyright Office before partnering with the app developer. You want to solidify your ownership rights in the game's copyrightable elements.

Although there are several different ways you can form an agreement with the app developer, what it appears might serve your needs instead of licensing rights to the app developer is a collaboration agreement (coauthor agreement). The agreement would need to spell out exactly who is contributing what to the app and who is retaining what rights. There needs to be an agreement as to what percentage of the revenues generated by the app will be shared. The app once developed should be registered with the Copyright Office as a collaboration. Without a collaboration agreement in place, anything you and the developer work on together will be presumed by a court to be shared 50/50.

I do not think that what you want to do is easy to do on your own, Sleepy Bear. At the very least, see if you can locate a law school professor who might provide you some free direction or buy an hour or two of an IP attorney's time. It is far better to have an attorney look it all over now than having to have an attorney look it over after a dispute arises and you find yourself in court.

Good luck.